Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender’s camp asked the club to sign a backup in his position – report
The lack of options in the full-back positions at Real Madrid has become a subject of intense debate.
Real Madrid went into the season with Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez as their right-back options while Ferland Mendy was the only left-back at Carlo Ancelotti’s disposal, as David Alaba made it clear that he wished to play as a central defender.
The shortage of quality depth has come to haunt Real Madrid in recent times as both Vazquez and Carvajal have spent time on the sidelines while Mendy has also fallen to an injury recently.
With Alaba also struggling for fitness, Ancelotti has been forced to use Eduardo Camavinga at left-back in the last two matches.
Amidst this, Guillermo Rai of The Athletic is reporting that Mendy has been asked to play in games even when he has not been at 100% fitness on occasions this season by Real Madrid.
Hence, the Frenchman’s entourage had asked the Merengues to sign a backup left-back so that they can rotate more freely and give the defender rest when he is not at 100%.
However, their request was not heeded by the reigning Spanish and European champions, leaving Mendy as the lone left-back in the squad.
But that has changed recently as Real Madrid are understood to have triggered €5 million buyback option on Rayo Vallecano’s Fran Garcia, who will return to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season.
For now, however, Ancelotti will have to cope with just Mendy as his frontline left-back, although Camavinga’s recent performances have shown that he can be relied on in times of emergency.
Nacho, too, is an option, although the Real Madrid cantera has been filling in at right-back in recent weeks and could be needed at centre-back following Eder Militao’s injury against Valencia on Thursday night.
There is no way back for Eden Hazard at Real Madrid. The Belgian international has not given the management any reason to have faith in his abilities over his past four seasons at the club and is unsurprisingly the most important departure for the Merengues in the summer.
Hazard has one more year on his contract in Madrid. However, it is clear that Carlo Ancelotti does not trust him and that any potential replacement manager in the summer will echo his stance.
According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Fenerbahce are willing to go all out to sign Hazard this summer. The Turkish side have made the former Chelsea their prime target, yet face a steep task ahead of them.
The 32-year-old is hellbent on seeing out his contract with Los Blancos despite seeing his career sink right before his eyes. It thus becomes complicated for the party to lure away the forward, especially in a competition outside Europe’s top five leagues.
Fenerbahce attempted to sign the winger in the recently concluded winter transfer market. They reached an agreement with Real Madrid but failed to get over the line as they could not convince the player of the move.
The biggest obstacle for the Turkish side will be convincing Hazard to make the move by letting go of his lucrative contract in Madrid. The chances are slim, but not impossible.
Hazard has made just three league appearances and one start for Ancelotti’s side this season in La Liga, a steep fall from last season’s 18 and seven respectively.
His last appearance for the team came back in January when Real Madrid faced Cacereno in the Copa del Rey. In La Liga however, he last played in September 2022 in a 4-1 win over Mallorca.
